Vicky McClure: the scene stealer

Vicky McClure would like to confirm that she is the journalist in ITV's Broadchurch. "Six weeks into the show people started tweeting: 'Oh, it's you!'" she laughs. "It didn't click because for the first time on TV, I've had long hair." It was her idea to put extensions in: "Not because I'm vain, I just wanted to separate myself from the previous characters I've played."

When you consider it was hard-bitten Lol in This is England (a role which required her to shave her hair) that first put McClure on the map, you understand. Then there's the bob-haired DC Kate Fleming in Line of Duty, which returns this autumn. First, though, McClure is trying her hand at comedy in the film Svengali, opposite Martin Freeman. "It's all improvised," she says, "which is fine, because I'm dead funny."

Favourite current TV "The Mimic - it was cute."Favourite childhood TV "Saved by the Bell."What reality show would you appear on "If my mum had her way, Strictly Come Dancing. She's always saying: 'You can dance. Go show 'em, love.'"

Dermot O'Leary: the stalwart

Dermot O'Leary doesn't stop talking. During our shoot, he is frequently told to "Shut up," and so begins a period of self-enforced silence. He breaks the spell when it's suggested he bears a resemblance to Jeremy Renner, star of the last Bourne film. "No," he grins, "But, man! I love it."

After seven years hosting The X Factor, he still claims it's one of best jobs on telly. Just don't ask him for any gossip. "I don't know who the new judges are, so you can't even make me tell you," he says, all apologetic. "I go to the pub and it's all my mates want to know. And every year I say: 'Seriously – right now they've just got me. And probably Louis.'"

Favourite current shows "The Walking Dead and Shetland, butI'm obsessed with period drama. I dream that one day Julian Fellowes will go: 'Good Lord, he's the Irish firebrand I've been hoping for.'"Best TV detective "Foyle from Foyle's War."Guilty pleasure "Trawlermen, as I love fishing. But not ExtremeFishing: I feel Robson Green just likes to catch big fish and laugh at them."

Lara Pulver: the siren

There was only one way Lara Pulverwas going to tackle her nude scene in the last series of Sherlock. "Just heels and earrings," she says on turning down a modesty pouch. Her turn as Irene Adler not only pulled in 9 million viewers, it quickly became the most watched clip on BBC iPlayer. Being "The girl from Sherlock" has its benefits, though: as well as a role in drama Da Vinci's Demons, Pulver is set to play 007 creator Ian Fleming's wife in Sky Atlantic series Fleming. "The original Bond girl," she says.

Dream TV role "In 40 years I really want to be Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey."Favourite childhood TV "The Cosby Show."Best TV pairing "That's easy. Olivia Colman and David Tennant in Broadchurch."

Jon Snow: the anchorman

Jon Snow: 'Homeland is the first drama in years that has forced me to stay in on a Sunday night.' Photograph: Sarah Dunn

"I was always told not to wear bright colours, so I do. They're my one bit of rebellion. Oh, and I love my socks, so I'm not changing them."

Jon Snow is a dream until you get him to the wardrobe department. But after nearly 25 years of being the news anchor for C4 (he reaches the milestone next year), it's no wonder he's got his look down to a T. "I'm idiosyncratic with my ties, but most of all I'm just trying not to look 65," he says, sitting down on the floor cross-legged.

In 2012, Snow won a Bafta for his coverage of the Japanese tsunami. This year he has already covered Margaret Thatcher's funeral; he was a rookie reporter at the start of her tenure and recounted his relationship with the ex-PM in the C4 documentary Maggie & Me.

Are there any plans to celebrate his impending 25-year anniversary? "None," he says. "I find that as soon as you start reminding people how long you've been doing this, they start to think it's time you went."

He is, however, considering a guest spot as a judge on Britain's Got More Talent, following a role as "TV anchorman" in the film Coriolanus and an appearance in C4's Made in Chelsea Celebrity Mash Up. "Why not?" he says. "I tend to do most things if asked."

Favourite current shows "Homeland is the first drama in years that has forced me to stay in on a Sunday night."Earliest TV memory "Watching the Queen's coronation with our neighbour, who had a huge walnut box with a tiny screen. My father said: 'Huh! This will never catch on.' I didn't think that one day I'd look out of that."TV idol "Charles Wheeler, foreign correspondent for the BBC. He was a real raconteur and always so clear."

Olivia Colman first made her name in comedies such as Peep Show and Twenty Twelve, but in the last year she has exploded into drama. Megan Conner talked to her just as Britain was holding its breath for her performance in the finale of Broadchurch